lightweight thermal protection systems with metallic, biological or chemical
materials, although still unknown.
In addition, it will also be necessary to solve the problem of the muscular and
skeletal weakening of the human body which, after a long stay in space, would not
support the astronauts’ first steps on Martian soil. Even today, an astronaut who
has just returned to Earth after six months aboard the ISS can barely walk due to
orthostatic hypotension
39
and must be helped by qualified personnel to even get
out of the capsule. How could he or she handle a landing on Mars after a journey
of several months in deep space? This is not an easy problem to solve. Biomedical
technologies not yet available are needed for the preservation of heart muscle
tone, given that, for example, the heart tends to become spherical by 9.5% after
only six months in orbit, with still unknown risks for humans. It is then necessary
to find a remedy for osteoporosis and oxidative stress of the eyeballs, all symptoms that are now normally found on astronauts aboard the ISS.
In Hollywood movies, one major solution is simple: a huge spaceship rotates so
as to generate a force similar to Earth’s gravity inside it, and everything is solved.
In movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Interstellar or The Martian, large spaceships rotate around an axis and the centrifugal force created by the rotation pushes
astronauts from top to bottom, where they stand on an internal bulkhead. But if it
is so simple, why has not even a small-scale prototype of a rotating spaceship been
built in space yet?
In fact, NASA designed a module of this type twenty years ago, called the
Centrifuge Accommodation Module (CAM),
40
which was supposed to be installed
on the ISS to perform experiments in a simulated gravity environment with plants
and small animals. However, in 2003, the program was canceled due to budget
concerns. Unfortunately, research into this technology has not progressed very far
since then due to the high development costs.
41
The problem is that a rotating
spaceship should be made up of metal structures capable of withstanding the
continuous stresses to which they would be subject during constant rotation, and
there are still no concrete engineering solutions for an infrastructure of this type.
Furthermore, in order to be effective, the rotating spaceship would have to be very
huge, otherwise the force generated inside it would not be homogeneous, with
serious repercussions on the astronauts’ health.
Let’s imagine, for example, rotating a pressurized module of the ISS – a cylinder 16 feet in diameter and 26 in length – at 20 revolutions per minute so as to
obtain an average force inside it equal to the Earth’s gravity. Because of its small
size, the intensity of this force would not be uniform throughout and would induce
39
https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2013/01/24/whats-it-like-experiencing-gravity-afterbeing-in-space-for-6-months/#59cbe79c825c.
40
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20010082955.
41
https://aerospacecue.it/creare-simulare-gravita-iss/8980/.
Mars: Next Stop? 131
materials, although still unknown.
In addition, it will also be necessary to solve the problem of the muscular and
skeletal weakening of the human body which, after a long stay in space, would not
support the astronauts’ first steps on Martian soil. Even today, an astronaut who
has just returned to Earth after six months aboard the ISS can barely walk due to
orthostatic hypotension
39
and must be helped by qualified personnel to even get
out of the capsule. How could he or she handle a landing on Mars after a journey
of several months in deep space? This is not an easy problem to solve. Biomedical
technologies not yet available are needed for the preservation of heart muscle
tone, given that, for example, the heart tends to become spherical by 9.5% after
only six months in orbit, with still unknown risks for humans. It is then necessary
to find a remedy for osteoporosis and oxidative stress of the eyeballs, all symptoms that are now normally found on astronauts aboard the ISS.
In Hollywood movies, one major solution is simple: a huge spaceship rotates so
as to generate a force similar to Earth’s gravity inside it, and everything is solved.
In movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Interstellar or The Martian, large spaceships rotate around an axis and the centrifugal force created by the rotation pushes
astronauts from top to bottom, where they stand on an internal bulkhead. But if it
is so simple, why has not even a small-scale prototype of a rotating spaceship been
built in space yet?
In fact, NASA designed a module of this type twenty years ago, called the
Centrifuge Accommodation Module (CAM),
40
which was supposed to be installed
on the ISS to perform experiments in a simulated gravity environment with plants
and small animals. However, in 2003, the program was canceled due to budget
concerns. Unfortunately, research into this technology has not progressed very far
since then due to the high development costs.
41
The problem is that a rotating
spaceship should be made up of metal structures capable of withstanding the
continuous stresses to which they would be subject during constant rotation, and
there are still no concrete engineering solutions for an infrastructure of this type.
Furthermore, in order to be effective, the rotating spaceship would have to be very
huge, otherwise the force generated inside it would not be homogeneous, with
serious repercussions on the astronauts’ health.
Let’s imagine, for example, rotating a pressurized module of the ISS – a cylinder 16 feet in diameter and 26 in length – at 20 revolutions per minute so as to
obtain an average force inside it equal to the Earth’s gravity. Because of its small
size, the intensity of this force would not be uniform throughout and would induce
39
https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2013/01/24/whats-it-like-experiencing-gravity-afterbeing-in-space-for-6-months/#59cbe79c825c.
40
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20010082955.
41
https://aerospacecue.it/creare-simulare-gravita-iss/8980/.
Mars: Next Stop? 131